Rybnik, town in southern Poland, in Katowice Province, in Upper Silesia, on the Nacyna River. It is a coal-mining and manufacturing center. Major products include mining equipment, metal goods, and chemicals. An old castle and an 18th-century town hall are here. The community, founded in the 10th century as a fishing village, passed to Prussia in 1742 and to Poland in 1921. Population (1997 estimate) 144,900.
